Learn how to ask for a discount
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| Ciao a tutti! Sono Consuelo. Hi everybody! I’m Consuelo. |
| Welcome back to ItalianPod101.com’s Italiano in tre minuti. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Italian. |
| In the last lesson we learned how to count euros. Did you practice at home? Today we are going to learn another useful phrase that can you can use in your shopping time: "can you give me a discount?" |
| In Italy haggling is very common, especially at the bancarelle which are little stands in little local markets that we call mercatini. |
| On the other hand, we don’t do it in normal shops. |
| Are you ready? Allora cominciamo! Let’s start! |
| In order to lower the price in Italian, we ask: |
| Mi può fare lo sconto? |
| (One more time, slowly: mi può fare lo sconto?) |
| Mi può fare lo sconto literally means: |
| Mi → to me |
| può fare → can you do (referring to Lei) |
| lo sconto → the discount |
| Upon entering a bancarella you will be struck by the variety of colorful stalls and you will be immediately attracted by something that interests you. |
| Normally if you are interested in buying something, you will say: |
| Excuse me, how much is this? Scusi, quanto costa questo? |
| As soon as you’re told the price, you can start the bargaining to lower the price saying: |
| E’ troppo caro! |
| (One more time, slowly: E’ troppo caro!) |
| This last phrase means it’s too expensive!! |
| Now let’s see all these phrases in sequence: |
| Consuelo: Scusi, quanto costa questo? |
| Salesman: Cinquanta euro! |
| Consuelo: Cinquanta euro? E’ troppo caro! Mi può fare lo sconto? |
| At this point the salesman will probably say a lower price. Then you'll decide whether you want to make a counteroffer and say, for example: |
| Le do quarantacinque euro! I'll give you forty-five euros! |
| Now it’s time for Consuelo’s tips. |
| These little markets are temporary street markets where you can find everything from food and clothes to antiquities. In these places you will be able to use the phrases you learned in this lesson. Don’t be afraid to use your Italian when speaking to the merchants because they are very funny and they can be very friendly and kind to potential customers. |
| If the merchant is not changing his mind, just try to ask for un pò di sconto. Un pò means a little. Are you ready to have fun at the bancarelle? |
| In this lesson we learned how to lower the price at bancarelle. Next time we are going to dine at a restaurant. We'll talk about what you should say when entering an Italian restaurant. |
| We’ll be waiting for you in our next Italiano in tre minuti lesson. |
| Ciao, alla prossima lezione!! |
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